India

Helping the elderly from Sandhya Kirana to earn an income

September 2013 │ India

As a Corporate Responsibility initiative, Asset Services Bangalore visited Sandhya Kirana on Saturday, September 14. Fifteen volunteers from the Asset Services team had an exciting day when they spent time with the elderly and helped make candles, paper bags, and jute mats.

Sandhya Kirana is a day care centre for elderly people in the lower income group. Started in 2004, Sandhya Kirana is a place where they can spend the day and engage in activities like games, talent displays, sightseeing trips, etc. Many of the elderly attending the centre seek to earn a small income to help take care of their needs. Although they stay with their families, they do not want to be a burden to their children and look forward to engaging in income generation activities. Elderly people are trained to make small products like newspaper covers, jute mats, candles, paper pens, areca nut plates etc. The products made are in line with their abilities.

It was a memorable day and everyone enjoyed being part of this initiative. One could see a twinkle in the eyes of the elderly as they welcomed the volunteers with open arms.

A sum of IND 30,000 collected by the Asset Services team (Mumbai & Bangalore) was donated to Sandhya Kirana. All the volunteers spread out into different groups and shared the work with the elderly. One man was so happy that he performed a dance for the volunteers. The wholehearted contribution by the team will go a long way in giving quality life to the old and needy.